Custom Handwound Pickups

Creamery Custom Handwound Pickups - Made in Manchester

All my pickups are custom wound, often to customers own specs when ordered. I don't have a shelf of pickups all boxed up ready to send so when you order pickups from me, they're made specifically for you.

Custom Handwound Pickups - Made in Manchester, UK

My pickups are 100% handwound (scatterwound) on bobbins, vulcanised black flatwork or in some cases, removable bobbins to create 'air coils' with individually set eyelets to hold the wiring. Each pickup is hand wound at constant slowish speed of around with 41 AWgG, 42 AWG, 43 AWG or 44 AWG plain enamel or vintage formvar copper wire at the right amount of tension for each design. Pinched between forefinger and thumb on one of my handbuilt pickup winding machines, the tension I look for is just enough for the copper wire to warm a little whilst giving a noticeable 'pull' on the smaller motors I use.

Handwound / Scatterwound Pickups - Custom Made in Manchester, UK

Unlike machine wound pickups, handwound (also called scatterwound) pickups can have a richer harmonic voice. The wraps of very thin coil wire are scatterwound, overlapping as the coil is built up to the required size for each or specifications for each particular design of pickup. A handwound / scatterwound coil does take time. I wind my pickups at slowish speed with varying tension to give a more open voice, overlapping the wraps of fine coil with a scattered pattern unique to each design. Unlike many uniformly pre-tensioned, machine wound coils, I like to wind my Creamery handwound pickups with a lower capacitance and a slightly higher resonant peak to give more dynamics in the tone, more clarity and improved string definition especially at gain.

Custom Guitar Pickup Magnets

All the magnets I use are custom manufactured specifically for me using my own specifications. I don't use off-the-shelf magnets from the various online shops as I like to be in control of the parts I use and can be confident of their unique specifications

Custom Made Guitar Pickup Parts

I'm pretty damn close to achieving my aim of using completely 100% custom manufactured parts to my own specifications. Again, I try to use as few off-the-shelf parts as possible as my aim is to create truly custom & bespoke guitar pickups rather than simply focus on the same designs, using the same off-the-shelf parts as many other pickup makers.

Handmade Pickup Winding Machine

If I showed you a picture of the machine I have built you'd laugh! It does look like an old Heath Robinson contraption but again, rather than use one of the many off-the-shelf winding machines I have built my own, to my own specifications with a few unique design quirks to help my make richer sounding pickups. I've arrived at this 'unique' machine after building many and using bought machines, taking them apart & rebuilding them to create a few changes to the simple design that help me (hopefully) make better sounding pickups.

Wax Potting Pickups

Once wired and after passing final testing with digital meters I start the wax-potting process in a combination of 30% beeswax / 70% paraffin wax. I use a generous amount of beeswax in the potting process as it ensures the solidified coil is less brittle under cold temperatures, thereby making the chance of damage to the delicate coil wire far less likely. Potting the pickup removes any trapped air in the coil and helps to stop microphonic feedback at high gain.

Of course, pickups can be purchased unpotted - Under low to medium gain, un-potted pickups can have a microphonic effect which can enhance the tone of the wood and help the pickup be that little bit more sensitive to individual picking. High gain users should request potted pickups as the microphonic effect can become a damn unpleasant squeal when cranked up high. (Though the vintage PAFs on those $1million dollar Les Paul '59s weren't! ... But that was over 50yrs ago when amp technology was both a little different and a little quieter.)

Custom Pickups - Wound to Order

All my pickups are custom wound, often to customers own specs when ordered. I don't have a shelf of pickups all boxed up ready to send so when you order pickups from me, they're made for you.

The pickups in my range can be a starting point when looking for the right tone for your guitar but often I will craft custom pickups specifically for the customer. As I said, I don't have a shelf of pickups boxed up and ready to ship, each pickup is wound to order based on the customer's unique spec.

Custom Pickup Options

Whether it be a strat pickup for a tele neck, a humbucker with flat baseplate or an upgrade to those muddy reissue Wide Raneg Humbuckers, I can custom design & wind you a set of custom pickups.

If you're seeking a little advice on the best type of pickup for your guitar, or simply want a custom pickup made to your specifications, just get in touch and we can chat about all the custom pickup options.